Hardwood Flooring Types Explained

Hardwood Flooring is the most popular & luxurious flooring option.

View Solid ProductsView Engineered Products

Hardwood Flooring Types Explained

Hardwood Flooring is the most popular & luxurious flooring option.

View Solid ProductsView Engineered Products

Hardwood Flooring Types Explained

Hardwood Flooring is the most popular & luxurious flooring option.

View Solid ProductsView Engineered Products

Increase the Value of Your Home

Hardwood raises the value of your home with an upscale, timeless look.

Life-Long Good Looks

This type of floor never goes out of style and lasts for years.

ECO-FRIENDLY

It’s the best floor for those who suffer from allergies plus it contributes to a healthier indoor air quality.
Hardwood Flooring comes in two types, Solid Hardwood and Engineered Hardwood. The core difference between solid and engineered lies in the structure of the planks. Each type has its own benefits and limitations for use. Let’s dive in deeper.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Is Simply Real Wood, Engineered for All Areas of Your Home

What is engineered hardwood and how is it made?

Engineered hardwood planks are constructed, or engineered as the name suggests, from multiple layers. The top layer, also called wear layer, is still a 100% real wood. Other layers, made up of plywood, are stacked in opposite directions and bonded together.

Engineered Hardwood is built with the ply-base and real wood top layer for several reasons & serves multiple purposes.

  • It increases the dimensional stability of the planks, which also allows for stronger, wider planks.
  • The top wear layer can be sanded/refinished multiple times.
Tip: The thickness of the wear layer ranges from 2mm to 8mm. A 2mm allows you to sand/refinish at least once. A 3 mm allows for about 2.5 times, 4mm about 3.5 times, and a 6mm (equivalent to solid hardwood) allows for 5-6 times.
  • Engineered hardwood can handle humidity levels better than solid. That means less expansion and contraction over time. It is much more stable than solid and doesn’t wrap or hump the way solid does.
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Engineered Hardwood Flooring Installation

Engineered Hardwood Flooring is very versatile when it comes to installation.

  • It can be glued down, nailed, floated. The ply-base in engineered planks allows for installation in all areas and levels of your home along with the ability to glue to concrete slab and in some cases it’s compatible with radiant heating.
Note: We don’t recommend gluing down solid hardwood. Only engineered floors can be glued down.
  • It can be installed below ground level, on ground level, and above ground level.
  • Engineered flooring can be installed in higher moisture areas such as basements or kitchens, especially if you want to maintain a consistent look throughout your home or office.
Note: If you’re looking for a 100% waterproof floor for areas such as bathrooms, we recommend luxury vinyl flooring.

Engineered Flooring Durability

Engineered Flooring is a long-lasting, durable, beautiful, and low-maintenance choice. Prefinished engineered hardwood is especially durable because of the factory-applied coating.

Engineered Flooring Durability


Engineered Flooring is a long-lasting, durable, beautiful, and low-maintenance choice. Prefinished engineered hardwood is especially durable because of the factory-applied coating.
Note: All German Flooring products are pre-finished which saves you time, money, installation costs, and is more convenient than unfinished floors. Finishes applied by the manufacturer last longer and can go years without needing to be refinished.

While engineered flooring is very durable and scratch-resistant, the biggest determining factor in scratch-resistance comes down to you specific floor’s wood specie and finish type.

Hardwood floors come in a variety of different wood species such as, hickory, oak, maple, walnut, etc. Each of the wood species has a “Janka Hardness Rating” that determines how durable that specific floor is.

Acacia and hickory are considered very durable especially when paired with a finish such as “polyurethane with built in aluminum oxide”.

Tip: To pick the right specie and finish, consult one of our flooring experts to guide you in picking the right floor for your needs. Give us a call or contact us now.
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Solid Hardwood Flooring

Solid Hardwood is Classic, Timeless & Authentic

Solid hardwood planks are simply milled from real wood and left at that. They are made up of a solid piece of wood and nothing else. The benefits of solid hardwood are:

  • They are a classic choice that have been used for hundreds of years.
  • Solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished about 5 to 6 times.
  • It is an eco-friendly choice with a natural look.
Tip: Solid hardwood expands and contracts with relative humidity levels. If you are worried about moisture or humidity, consider engineered hardwood floors.

Solid Hardwood Installation

Solid can be glued or nailed to a wood subfloor.

Note: We don’t recommend gluing down solid to a concrete slab.

Solid hardwood can be installed on or above ground level. We don’t recommend installing it below ground level such as in basements or any moisture prone areas.

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Your Floors Would Love to Meet You!

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2050 Junction Ave San Jose, CA 95131

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(408) 649-3135

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